Compassionate food, travel, and fun.

Two Dollar Tuesday: Tex Mex Stew

My in-laws gave me the awesome birthday gift of a spice grinder. This gave me the perfect excuse to use Aldi’s whole dried guajillo chiles that I’ve been eyeing for a while now. As soon as I got that spice grinder I knew what I wanted to make, chili!

I ground up the whole chile (minus the stem) and some cumin seeds I bought at the Asian grocery store. Nothing quite compares to the smell of freshly ground cumin.The base of fresh vegetables makes a fairly light “stew” and the mild flavor of the chile blend makes it safe for non-spice lovers in our household. Feel free to change it up with different pepper varieties or vegetables (I bet corn would be good in this). This is a very basic recipe that’s waiting for some creative additions!

Tex Mex Stew

Recipe total cost: $3.77

Cost per serving: 94 cents

Servings per recipe: 4

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil (20 cents)

1 small yellow onion, chopped (31 cents)

2 cups chopped tomatoes (about 4 medium tomatoes ($1.12)

3 jalapeños, deseeded and diced (39 cents)

2 cloves of garlic, minced (22 cents)

2 (15 oz.) cans pinto beans ($1.19)

1 whole guajillo chile, ground (19 cents)

1 1/2 teaspoons whole cumin seeds, ground (12 cents)

1/4 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste (3 cents)

1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Directions:

In a large pot, bring the olive oil to medium-high heat. Add the onion, tomatoes, jalapeños, and garlic. Sauté until the onions are translucent and tender.

Stir in the remaining ingredients and cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes for flavors to meld. Serve with a side of cornbread or crackers.